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Once again it has been a hectic week with Year 10 students completing Retreats and Community Outreach, Year 12 students completing their examinations and Years 7 to 9 “recovering” from the excitement of camps. It has been great to hear of the many ways in which the girls (and staff) challenged themselves during the various experiences they were offered – including Year 10 students who entered wholeheartedly into the spirit of Retreats and Community Outreach. There have been many compliments paid to the girls for their great work, their willingness to do whatever is asked of them and their leadership qualities. Congratulations to all.

Year 11 Drama students presented their play on Thursday and Friday evenings. I am always impressed by the talent displayed by the students. Congratulations to both the students and their teachers for the effort which went into such a professional production.

Important Reminders

The College is closed on Holy Thursday, 2 April. Term One finishes at 3.15pm on Wednesday 1 April. All students return for Term Two on Monday 20 April.

Despite what may appear in Student Planners, Monday 27 April is a normal school day.
Anzac Day falls on Saturday 25 April and is celebrated on that day. There is no additional public holiday.

This is the last newsletter for the term. There will be no newsletter next week.

On Friday afternoon we welcomed visitors from Good Samaritan Education and some of our sister Good Samaritan Colleges. We are blessed to have such dedicated governance personnel who oversee the work of our school. I was very proud to be able to show them our facilities and also very proud of our students and staff who made them feel welcome as they toured the College.

I encourage students to take the opportunity to involve themselves in the Easter Triduum commencing on Holy Thursday. Every parish will have different times for the ceremonies but it is important to take the time to reflect on the journey of Christ from Holy Thursday until the vigil on Easter Saturday evening which commences the Easter Sunday celebration of the Resurrection. Good Friday is a day of both fast and abstinence as we spend the day in solemn reflection on the passion and death of Jesus. On Easter Sunday we awake to the new life of the resurrected Christ, a day traditionally celebrated by families with Easter eggs.

I trust that the term break will give families an opportunity to slow down a little, without the busy schedules of school days. I encourage the girls to try to take a break away from the electronic media, to enjoy a good book, to take time for face-to-face conversations with friends and family, and to enjoy the beautiful autumn days.

As we enter the final days of Lent let us remember the suffering of Christ in His Passion:

An olive garden is where I lie,
The psalms we sang then, a silent cry;
Word of the Father, why must I die.
The feet of Judas, at a table kissed,
Are closing in now, in a violent crowd;
O that this chalice may pass me by.

This week our Year 10 students have continued with the second week of their program involving either a Community Outreach placement or their Year 10 Retreat. We have had significant amounts of feedback about the outreach program both from our students who have completed their placement and from the organisations who have hosted them. We are delighted to see how well this experience of community involvement works both to the benefit of our student as well as those connected with the organisations and agencies who host the program.

We have also had very good reports from the first two groups during their Retreats at Peter Canisius House and Kiah Ridge respectively. Students and staff alike have enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere and change of pace from the normal busyness of life. Such experiences provide a timely reminder of the importance to take time out to pray and reflect. We look forward to hearing more news from the groups who are out this week.

Next week we will gather for our Easter Liturgy on the final day of term. Our liturgy will provide us with an opportunity to focus on the great events of Holy Week. Unfortunately we can only provide a taste of the richness and power of the Easter ceremonies. We encourage our students to take the opportunity of sharing in these ceremonies in their local Parish communities.

On Thursday 2 April we celebrate Holy Thursday with the Eucharist commemorating the last supper and the institution of the Eucharist and the ministry of Priesthood. This liturgy includes the washing of the feet of members of the congregation in a symbolic representation of the call to service in the Gospel of John. The Holy Thursday liturgy ends with the Church being stripped bare of its normal adornments and the Blessed Sacrament being removed from the tabernacle and placed in the altar of repose.

On Good Friday there are normally two liturgies celebrated. In the morning the community commemorates the events of the Passion of Jesus through the service of the Stations of the Cross and in the afternoon, usually at 3.00pm the Liturgy of the solemn commemoration of the Passion and Death of Jesus is held. This often includes a dramatic reading of the Passion from the Gospel account and the Veneration of the Cross. There is no Eucharist celebrated on Good Friday, however, Communion is offered through the consecrated hosts brought into the Church from the altar of repose.

On the evening of Easter Saturday the Easter Vigil is celebrated. This is the high point of the Church’s calendar and it is a liturgy which celebrates the passing of Jesus from death into the life of the resurrection in a powerful and moving way. This liturgy often begins around a lighted fire in the Church grounds and includes a procession of the Paschal Candle into the darkened Church. The Easter Vigil also usually incorporates the Baptism of Catechumens who have been preparing for some months to be received into the Church.

The Liturgical celebrations of the Holy Week and Easter period are wonderful opportunities for our Parish communities to gather and celebrate their common faith in moving and engaging ways. It is hoped that all our students and families will be able to join with their local Parish communities for these rich liturgical experiences.

Designer Visit for Year 11 Design and Technology

We were recently fortunate to have a visit from Cathy Osbourne of Freeman Ryan Design in Sydney. She came to deliver a talk about a current project she is working on with a particular emphasis on how designers in industry work in teams. The talk was not only fascinating but very informative as the Year 11 girls are currently working on a 'team' project in their design and technology class.

After the talk, Cathy kindly offered to look at the design sheets that the girls are working on and I am very happy to say she was impressed with the quality of design thinking.

'I was lucky enough to spend a double period with the Year 11 Design and Technology students. I presented a brief look into how I work in a team as a Senior Graphic Designer. The girls then had the opportunity to present their work to me in small groups. I was very impressed with the talent that lies between them as a collective. I'm looking forward to seeing their final lighting prototypes'.

We look forward to welcoming Cathy back to see our girl's completed work.

Year 7 Parent Teacher Evening

4.00pm - 7.30pm
Wednesday 29 April / Monday 4 May

The Year 7 Parent Teacher Evening will be conducted over two nights:

Students in Classes 1, 2, 3 and 4
The Parent Teacher Evening will be held on Wednesday 29 April.
Parents will be emailed a password and link to access the Parent Teacher Online (PTO) site on Monday 13 April.
The PTO site will remain open until midday Monday 27 April.

Students in Classes 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9
The Parent Teacher Evening will be held on Monday 4 May
Parents will be emailed a password and link to access the Parent Teacher Online (PTO) site on Monday 20 April. The PTO site will remain open until midday Sunday 3 May.

Parents should note that your daughter's teacher can specifically request an interview.

Parents wishing to make appointments after the site has closed will have to contact the College.

Students are to attend in school uniform with their parent(s). Interviews are of six minutes duration and a chime will ring with a visual digital display of the time indicating a change to the next teacher.

The aims of the evening are:

An opportunity for parents to meet their daughter's teachers and continue to foster positive relationships between parent, student and teacher;

For students and parents to be given valuable feedback on their learning so the student can set goals for the next Semester ;

Discussion of ways in which the teacher and parent can work together to support the student in her learning; and

For students and parents to develop an objective concept of their capacity and abilities.

We look forward to meeting you at your first Parent Teacher Evening at the College.

Kennedy Space Centre Visit

In the upcoming Easter Holidays, three teachers and fourteen girls from Years 9 to 12 will set off for Florida, USA. Throughout our stay in Florida, we will be lucky enough to experience indoor skydiving at I-Fly, a day at Universal Studios (including Harry Potter World!), a three day programme at the Kennedy Space Centre, and an airboat tour through Boggy Creek in Orlando. Towards the end of our trip, we will fly to Washington to experience a day filled with visits to the Smithsonian Natural History Museum and Space and Aeronautical Museum.

We are all looking forward to being a part of the inaugural Space Camp Trip, a trip which may not be available again for quite a while. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to experience American culture whilst having fun with our friends. We hope to strengthen our understanding of Science and Maths by discovering how Science is found in our everyday lives through various hands-on experiences.

It’s going to be a jam packed adventure filled with science and fun, and an out of this world experience!

NAPLAN

Positive Education Seminar

Positive Education is a strengths based approach that allows students to recognise and utilise their strengths in meeting challenges. It allows individuals to become independent and self-directed in utilising areas within their life to enable them to flourish. The teaching of these strategies within a supportive educational setting allows the students to embrace and develop their strengths, providing skills they will utilise throughout their lives.

One aspect of Positive Education within the College is the use of The Resilience Doughnut developed by Lyn Worsley, a clinical psychologist who has been working with the College on Positive Education.

Year 7 and 8 parents are invited to a presentation on Monday 27 April at 7.00pm in the College Hall. After a discussion about Positive Education and skills that your daughters have been taught, Lyn will facilitate a workshop on the use of the Resilience Doughnut.

Working together offers the optimum opportunity for the development and support of your daughter.

Year 11 Leadership Day

Last week whilst everyone was out at camps and retreats, Year 11 had the school all to themselves. During this time, we partook in an alternative program in which we contributed to various workshops and took time out to de-stress.

On the last day of the program we had the privilege of participating in a day workshop led by Matt Kershaw from
YLead
. Most of us were not enthusiastic about having to sit down all day in a workshop, but those attitudes were quickly changed after Matt got us all up and dancing around the room, moving around to great music with crazy dance moves. After such a great warm up activity, we knew we were definitely in for a great day of fun and leadership skill building.

We participated in a team-building activity that involved a combination of teamwork and communication. We were broken up into five large groups and were challenged to recreate a complex picture on six separate canvases. The canvases were dispersed around the Hall and we could not join them together till the very end. This meant we had to rely on our ability to communicate verbally and move back and forth between tables, to get a glimpse of what the other five images looked like. Throughout this activity we learnt how important it is to know and recognise each other’s strengths and weaknesses. When we put the canvases together at the end, we all got a pleasant surprise of just how well we had done; the drawings looked amazing, a true reflection of our great teamwork.

Matt shared a personal story about an adversity he had overcome. His story not only gave us hope and courage, but inspired us to go out and work hard to achieve our goals and be great leaders. We finished off the day by sharing the great qualities and strengths we saw in each other. Looking around the space, all that could be seen were big smiles and all that could be heard were positive comments towards one another and laughter.

By the end of the day, we took away a few important messages. We were challenged to think about how to be great leaders, with or without a badge. The day helped in reminding us to appreciate each other and we were inspired to reflect on the elements of true servant leadership in our everyday lives. We also learnt that in utilising our individual strengths, together we can achieve our common vision.

Our grade grew closer throughout the course of the day, as many of us, stepped out of our comfort zone and worked with new people in Year 11. We all had an AMAZING day and left feeling truly inspired and motivated to conquer the world by making our mark.

Late Arrivals and Early Departures

Could all parents please remember that their daughter is to come to Student Services if they are late or leaving early, no student is to leave the College with or without a parent and without first notifying Student Services.

The College Absentee Line can be used to send a text message 0418 565 982 if a student is going to be late or being picked up early.

Government ID Cards

While all young people under 16 years of age are eligible for half fare as a 'child', on turning 16, students are required to obtain a concession card in order to continue to obtain concession fares. The standard cards, the
NSW Senior Secondary Student Concession Card
enable them to access concession fares at all times.

If your daughter is turning 16 by 30 April she may pick up her concession card from Student Services during recess or lunch.

Lost Property

All unnamed lost property items will be on display outside the Student Services door for the last week of term. Any item that is left at the end of the week will be recycled.

Students who wish to trial for sports that are offered directly through NSW CCC will need to nominate through the NSW CCC website. I encourage you to visit the NSW CCC website https://www.csss.nsw.edu.au/nswccc-home.aspx if your daughter is an experienced state level athlete in any sport.

Closing dates for the following sports are approaching - Diving (Closes 30 March), AFL (Closes 23 April), Volleyball (Closes 24 April), Netball U15 and Opens (Closes 1 May). Please remember that these are trials for State teams and as such students must be very experienced for their nomination to be approved.

Representative Sports Trials and Training

Representative Sports Trials and Training Next Week

Monday 30 March

TOUCH (Y9/10)

Trial

Mrs Hickey

Monday 30 March

JUNIOR BASKETBALL (Y7/8)

Call Backs

Mrs Grant

Tuesday 31 March

OPEN SOCCER (Y8 - 12)

First Trial

Mr Hume

Tuesday 31 March

INTERMEDIATE BASKETBALL (Y9/10)

Call Backs

Mrs He

MSB Cross Country Championships

The annual MSB Cross Country will be held at the College on Tuesday 21 April, the second day back next term. Competitors will run three (juniors) or four laps (intermediates / seniors) of an approximately 1km course around the College grounds.

JUNIOR aged 12/13 - Period Five / Six

INTERMEDIATE aged 14/15 - Period Five

SENIOR aged 16/over - Period Six

All students have been emailed details to their college email address. If you are interested, place your name on the sign-up list on the Sports Noticeboard that corresponds with the age that you are turning this year.

Students are required to bring adequate water/sunscreen etc and change into their complete MSB PDHPE uniform.

Students who are assisting as Marshals may choose to remain in their MSB uniform, but should still bring their MSB cap, water and sunscreen.

Parents are most welcome to attend as spectators/assistants (seating is available on the College Oval).

The top FIVE runners in each AGE group will be selected to represent the College at the Broken Bay Championships at St Ives the following Tuesday 28 April.

Please see/email Mrs Grant if you have any queries.

Broken Bay Swimming Championships

Our super swimmers competed on Monday at the BBSSSA Championships. The day began well with MSB swimmers winning all but one age group in the 50m breaststroke events!

We then continued with some great results with stand out performances by

Nicole Sanders Y7, who was named as the U12 girls Champion

Caitlin Walsh Y8, set a new record in the U14 50m Breaststroke (35.16)

A total of 10 MSB girls out of our team of 19 will now compete at NSW CCC - almost half our team!

Other top 3 finishes on the day were achieved by:

Nicole U12 - 2nd 100m Freestyle

Christina U13 - 2nd 50m Fly, 3rd 50m Freestyle

Caitlin U14 - 2nd 50m Fly

Alicia Marcer U15 - 3rd 100m Freestyle

Tammy McGregor U16 - 2nd 50m Backstroke

Armelle U16 - 2nd 100m Freestyle, 3rd 50m Freestyle

Jess 17+ - 2nd 200m Freestyle, 2nd 100m Freestyle, 3rd 200IM

Olivia B 17+ - 2nd 50m Fly

Olivia T 17+ - 3rd 50m Breaststroke, 3rd 50m Backstroke

Rachael 17+ - 3rd 50m Fly

Photos are available on the Photos in a Flash website - the password was on the inside of the program and emailed to the girls.

Many thanks to Mrs McGregor for fulfilling our timekeeping duties and the students/parents who assisted her.

A training session for all four successful relay teams will take place in the holidays. Please check your emails for final details.

NSW All Schools Cricket Championships

Last week Kate Barry Y9, was a member of the NSW CCC Open Cricket Team that competed at the NSW All Schools Championships.

Here is her report on the carnival:

On Tuesday 16 and Wednesday 17 March I participated in the NSW All Schools Cricket Championships. I had been selected in the NSW CCC team which consisted of players from all over NSW. The first day we played three T20 games, we lost the first game to CHS1 and then we won the next two games against CHS2 and CIS. This meant we made the final which was a 50 over game played against CHS1. The game was very exciting and the result came down to the last ball where CHS required one run to tie and two runs to win. CHS managed one run and then were run out on the attempt at a second run - it was 151 runs each - a tie, but because we had lost the least number of wickets CCC were declared the winners. This was the first time in 13 years that CCC had won the Championship!
It was a awesome two days of cricket and a lot of fun. I was very proud to represent my school and be part of such a great team.

Congratulations

Carla Takchi (Y12) finished second in the U20 100m Hurdles event at the recent Australian Junior Athletics Championships.

Katie Devitt (Y9) also collected a gold medal in the U16 4 x 100m and silver in the 4 x 200m sprint relays in addition to Top Five finishes in her individual 100m and 200m events.

Last weekend many MSB students were busy at the NSW Little Athletics Championships. Amie Bowrey Y8, gained selection into the NSW team (only eleven 13 yr old girls were selected) that will compete in Perth during the upcoming holiday break.

Ella Garabedian Y7 (pictured), competed in the Women’s Level 6 NSW State Trial on the weekend, representing Hornsby RSL Youth Club Gymnastics with the following fantastic results:

Equal 1st on vault,
3rd on Beam,
4th on Floor and
2nd Overall for the NSW State Trial.

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